Monday, June 4, 2012

Memorial Day weekend

Memorial Day weekend was a busy one for us. Not only does it usually fall during our wedding anniversary, but we also usually take a camping trip up to Canyon Point (on the Rim) with my side of the family....this year though, during the middle of our trip, we found out Jeff's Grandma Downs had passed away. She'd been battling cancer for a quite a few years, in and out of remission, and it eventually took her life on Sunday May 27th. Jeff was shocked of course, and sad, but we didn't feel the reality of it until we got home. Her funeral was on Thursday, and I'm not sure I'd ever seen Jeff cry so much. She was a wonderful grandmother to Jeff, and they were very close. I loved getting to know her these few short years since we were married, and she always made me feel like I was one of her own--always very thoughtful and sincere.

We will miss her greatly, but know that we will meet again some day.

Even though there was much heartache for Jeff, we still managed to have a good time on our trip.

We don't very often get a chance to beat the Valley heat, and so any time we can, we DO!

The trip started off with AWFUL weather--it was SO windy and SOOOO cold! And to top it off--NO FIRES. The boys all went up Thursday night to get a spot and set up camp, while the girls (and Logan) came up the next day. We were tempted to come home early, only after one day, but thankfully by Saturday night the wind had subsided and Sunday morning fires were allowed. Camping really isn't the same without a campfire! It made ALL the difference. We came home Tuesday afternoon after spending a glorious 5 days in the wilderness!
(And you might say we "cheated" a little because our campsite has showers...so we weren't completely filthy...)

Proof I married a true wildman.

There were lots of leisurely naps, and leisurely reading...

The morning we found out we could have campfires, the men went out into the woods and brought back firewood to chop up...Wyatt had lots of fun helping out:

(and NO, we didn't really let him use the hatchet...this was just for the picture)

...chekin' out the camera...

While the weather was nicer, we took a hike to the sinkhole

(nevermind we walked an hour in the wrong direction...we eventually got there though)

As you can see (or maybe you can't) I got an incredible sunburn on my face. Because it was so cold those first few days, I was in the sun almost always. My poor forehead and cheeks took a beating. I love this picture though...even if I do look like a beet.

I really love love LOVE camping. It's such a perfect way to get out of the worldly world, and focus our time on family and nature. I stayed up almost every night playing games with my siblings, while we froze our butts off, under the light of our lanterns. We played hide-and-go-seek out in the woods. We made s'mores. We took nature walks. We napped. We laughed.

Our Family

I'm a Van Capelle, and I married a Downs. This blog is a glimpse into our lives:
Jeff and I were married on May 26, 2007 in the Mesa, Arizona Temple. We love each and every moment we share and can't wait to start new and exciting adventures together! We've got the two cutest boys in the world--Wyatt and Logan--and we love them more than anything! Life is good!